ANBU
by cai-ann
Summary: ANBU- The Dark Warriors of the hidden villages. The elite of the elite, perfect weapons to be used untill dead or broken. This is Kakashi's story as one of the mask covered shinobi.
1. Inside the mask

Author Note: I've deleted the first chapter because I wrote it when I was 14 and it was bad so this is now the first chapter. Kk? thanks

Disclaimers: In my reality I own Naruto and therefore Kakashi, but unfortunately that reality is not this one so I cannot own Naruto and Kakashi *tear*. I also do not claim the poem which comes from the book The Devil's Footsteps by E. E. Richardson so I presume that he wrote it. I also am not responsible for the name The Sadist which comes from Anne Bishop's series the black jewels (also know in America as the dark jewels trilogy)

(Third person PoV)

**As the mask goes on**

_One in fire_

The will of Fire is strong in those of his generation the war had seen to that he is willing to give everything for the village, for his Hokage, for his precious person.

_Two in blood_

The blood of friends, enemies, innocents that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mixing with his own so that not even his sensitive nose could tell whose was whose.

_Three in storm_

The raw power and the feeling of being caught in a thunder storm with nothing to hide you, this was how his unique chakra made people feel he knew, and Kakashi used that to show them how mortal they were before using that pure white lightning to burn his hand through their chests and burst their hearts, just like a lightning strike in a storm.

_Four in flood_

The flood of emotion that he knew was coming, waiting for the tears, the sobs, the heart wrenching knowledge that it was all his fault...Father... Obito...Rin. The flood starts with a single tear that never comes.

_Five in anger_

So much anger at himself( it's all his fault),The Iwa nin (because without them there wouldn't be a war), At Father( why wasn't I enough to live for?), Obito(why did you have to be my friend?), Rin ( why for me?), Himself again (because it's all his fault).

_ Six in hate_

Kakashi used to hate the Iwa Nin, he used to hate the front lines, and he used to hate the feeling of blood covering his body, but he's to numb to hate now, to use to the war, to use to killing or being killed.

_Seven fear_

People fear him now, he's been in Iwa's Bingo book since he was Eight and he did his first A rank behind the lines. It's amazing how easily they trusted children. He got to the Kage's wife so easily. Kakashi Hatake, a child that everyone fears including sometimes the third Hokage, when he looks into eyes much older than even his own.

_Evil eight_

Kakashi doesn't believe in good and evil now, when he was very young he believed that who won the war would be the good people and who lost would be evil, now he knows that war doesn't show who is good or evil just who survives.

_Nine in sorrow_

He stopped crying, giving in to his grief and sorrow after his father, but just because he didn't show it (shinobi rule: 25) didn't mean he didn't feel sorrow. (not until the porcelain mask slips over his face does he stop feeling it all)

_Ten in pain_

Kakashi's no stranger to pain he's been captured and interrogated (tortured) before and he's not afraid of the pain. So when the ANBU agent (according to the mask, Hawk) does what they have to, to see if he has what it takes. He doesn't even scream A: he knows this isn't real and he's survived the real thing, and B: he's known the girl they call The Sadist since he was five. So he's really not worried about mental torture. (because he knows how good she is, but it was a fair deal he trained Obito's sharingan on her so she practiced the new interrogation Jutsu that she was creating on him) He learned how to embrace pain a long time ago.

_Eleven death_

All dead, all but him, all gone, leaving him all alone, he wants to be with them but he knows he won't, not until he is no longer of any use to the village.

_Twelve life again_

What he wouldn't give to have them back in his life to talk to them, to touch them one more time but Kakashi knows he can't so he will live for them, fight for them.

_Thirteen steps to the Dark Mans door_

At thirteen Kakashi is the youngest ANBU Ever and he's damn good at his job (after all he is a weapon)

_Won't be turning back no more_

And then Kakashi Hatake is no more and there in only ANBU Wolf

_One in fire, Two in blood_

_Three in storm and Four in flood_

_Five in anger, Six in hate_

_Seven fear and evil Eight _

_Nine in sorrow, Ten in pain_

_Eleven death, Twelve life again_

_Thirteen steps to the Dark mans door_

_Won't be turning back no more_

A/N so what do you think? Please review thank you to everyone who does. Yes I know that itachi was probably younger than 13 when he joined ANBU but at the time that this chapter takes place in the Naruto world he wouldn't have joined yet and therefore Kakashi would have been the youngest.

Bye for now,

Cai-ann


	2. Hunter or Hunted?

_A/N: hey...*hides behind wall* yeah it's been a looong time I know, I do have a list of excuses a mile long but I won't bore you with them here, if you really wanna know you can P.M me. I hope this chapter makes up in some small way, it's the longest I have ever written. BTW I'm Australian so I use the metric system._

_Key_

"_This is lyrics"_

"_these are thoughts"_

"this is normal 3rd person p.o.v"

Disclaimers: the lyrics are from my all time favourite band, Iron Maiden: the song is The Mercenary. I found it enhanced the story to a great degree. I has Kakashi figurine but I no own anything else, besides I'm a student, I have nothing to take. So don't sue ok? ok good. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

_Pay to kill, die to lose, hunted, hunter which are you? _

The sixteen year old fell gracefully though the sky and landed on a thick tree branch. Two years as ANBU had honed the weapon known as Kakashi Hatake into a razor sharp blade.

He rested for a moment on the branch and let out a almost silent sigh, six days of continuous combat and he was almost at his limit. Perhaps it was time to up the ante a little. A pale hand rose up and shifted the blood spattered porcelain mask slightly to the side, uncovering a scared eye that slowly opened to revel Obito Uchiha's last gift.

_Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, you've got to kill to stay alive _

Luckily there were only two of the eight man squad that had been sent after them left. The first nin was taken out with a trap wire and exploding tag, a basic tactic. The second and last would he knew (from the bingo book) be harder to take out.

But there was no choice, it was either kill or be killed now that he had been identified as Konoha ANBU.

It had seemed a simple mission, get in, get the information and then get out. However like most of his 'easy' missions it had all gone to hell, when one of his squad members had set off a trap that had rained down kunai and shurikan. The squad had paid the price and now there were only two of them left, the Captain and himself.

ANBU Wolf landed next to his squad captain Hawk and waited for his orders. "Do you have enough chakra to do what needs to be done?" came the quiet question

"yes".

His captain was silent for a moment and Wolf voiced his plan

"You haven't been identified yet and your faster than me, take the scroll and go"

Hawk looked at him "very well, but you better get yourself home kid," he said showing for a moment, concern for his subordinate.

"I have no intention of dying here, Hawk" Kakashi knew that he was still needed by the village, Konoha was still recovering from the attack by the nine tailed fox even two years later and there were few shinobi of his experience left that were still able to fight.

_Focus sharp in the night, watch the jungle burning bright _

so the ANBU Wolf was left alone waiting for an unknown assailant from the village that had been the bane of his life, Iwa. After less than fifteen minuets had gone by, the sharingan registered chakra heading his way and he jumped to the ground to confront the enemy shinobi.

He landed less than five meters in front of the Iwa nin. "A kid like you shouldn't be playing ninja in that outfit" came the snarled comment.

"I can not let you pass Shinobi-San" he replied, seemingly ignoring the first comment.

"Come on kid go back to the academy, and give that uniform back to who ever you took it from, it's not something for kids to play with." the man said while pulling out a kunai from his weapons pouch.

Wolf sighed mentally, it was clear that this particular shinobi didn't recognise him which was good tactically because he would be underestimated but constantly being called 'kid' was getting on his nerves. He held his position and stayed silent.

"Pity, I dislike killing children." were the last words said before the Iwa nin charged.

The ANBU operative quickly side stepped and put some space between them '_I have to end this quickly, I don't have enough in me for a long drawn out fight' ._ He thought as he threw several shurikan that the other dodged.

They draw together and apart several times testing each other, looking for a weak point.

Wolf flipped up into the air to avoid the spikes of rock that the Iwa nin had used a jutsu to summon. As he came down he breathed out a giant fireball, body flickered, threw kunai from his new position, body flickered again and drew his katana all in quick succession.

So that he was in position when the Iwa nin dodged all his attacks and ended up just in front of him with his back to him, before he could even turn, Wolf had driven his katana through his back and into his heart.

"It's over" were the almost whispered words from the exhausted Shinobi.

_Show them no fear, show them no pain _

After catching his breath and downing a food pill as well as a chakra pill. Kakashi continued on his journey back to Konoha. As far as he could tell he was about fifteen kilometres from the border checkpoints where he could been seen by a medic. He ran the distance and his condition through his head. Maybe an hour or so until he got there, hopefully his chakra and body would hold up 'till then, it would be embarrassing to be found unconscious by the border patrol.

By the time that he could see the checkpoint barracks he was swaying on his feet. With barely enough chakra to stop himself from passing out. He dropped down from the trees without the gracefulness that he was know for, registering but not really caring that even as exhausted as he was, he had covered his approach so that the guards were startled to see him and upon his brain registering that he was in safe territory, promptly passed out.

_Human heart, human mind, intellect intertwined_

Kakashi slowly opened his eye to the familiar sight of the white featureless ceiling of Konoha's hospital, the rhythmic beeping telling him that he was attached to a heart monitor and the stiffness in his left arm, that he had an IV drip in. He started slowly tensing and relaxing each muscle one by one to see what he had injured this time. Just as he was doing that a nurse walked in "Ahh, Hatake-San your awake I'll just go and get the medic on duty for you".

After about ten minutes a tall, dark haired man in a medics uniform walked in. "Good evening Hatake-San, I'm the medic on duty tonight. I'm just going to do some quick tests before I let you sit up"

He then started his test "Can you tell me your full name and age please?" he asked while checking his patient's pupil reactions

"Kakashi Hatake, sixteen" Kakashi knew the routine and answered without delay, it was a basic test all patients had to go through after being unconscious.

"And do you know where you are?" the medic was now checking his hand strength

"Konoha hospital, Village hidden in the leaves" the Jonin replied on auto pilot

"And who is the current Hokage?" the man had moved on to seeing if he could wiggle his feet.

"Sandaime-Sama" came the easy answer

"All right Hatake-San, everything seems to be in order. Now I'm going to raise the bed for you so that you can sit up, if anything hurts you need to tell me immediately alright?" Kakashi nodded his agreement and the bed was slowly raised until he was sitting instead of being horizontal.

"Any light-headedness?" the medic asked anxiously.

"Slightly when I was coming up but nothing now" the shinobi answered honestly.

"Good, good, now I guess you'll want the complete list of injures? The man asked.

Kakashi inclined his head, it was always useful to know how much damage he could take and keep going. The medic looked down at the chart and took a deep breath.

"I'll start from the minor and end with the more major injuries. Your body was covered with contusions and had you had multiple lacerations, a major haematoma on the left side of your torso, you have several cracked ribs under that by the way. What else... ahh yes major Chakra exhaustion and I don't know what you did to your right wrist but it was in several pieces when the CMO got to you." the medic rattled off the list adding a few comments of his own.

_Iron will iron fist, how could it have come to this?_

A month later Kakashi stood at the hero's monument. "I don't know how long I'll be gone this time Obito, Rin, Sensei. There have been sightings along the west border, Sandaime-Sama thinks that cloud could be testing our defences, seeing if we have the strength to repel them since we're still recovering from the demon fox's attack.

Who knows maybe I'll join you soon." Kakashi saw his captain signalling from the trees,time to go.

"I'll protect Konoha with my life, just as you did. I promise"

Kakashi slipped the porcelain mask over his face and once again became the weapon know as ANBU Wolf.

_Show them no fear, show them no pain_

A/N: so there it is my longest chapter ever, I really hope that you liked it. Please review I need to know if I should continue putting my time and effort into this after so long.


	3. symphony of death

_A/N: Well I'm back, yeah its a Really short chapter but better than nothing right?_

_Please tell me what you think good or bad I'm having real hard tome writing this so I need the motivation to keep going._

_Disclaimer: If I owned to the series it wouldn't be called Naruto, and there would be no orange at all, it is and there is so I don't. Get it?, the lyrics are once again Iron Maiden this time the song pashendale.  
_

_Warning!: This is really dark so be warned that it might crush your soul a little bit._

_Laying low in a blood filled trench _

Kakashi looked around, scanning for anything that seemed out of place. After three weeks of secretive warfare Cloud had finally come out and declared open war and ANBU had become the front line of the Village Hidden In The Leaves.

So here he was, back in mud filled trenches. Where it seems he has spent most of his life. He had first been sent to the front lines when he was only six. War was home to him in a way that peace could never be.

_Battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb _

Death was everywhere when you were at war, on the field, back at base, at the triage tent, back at Konoha. Everywhen, while your waking, while your sleeping. You can never be off guard, never relax, never show your weakness or you die.

He had seen so many people die, from his father to Obito and sensei, death was like an old acquaintance that you always dreaded coming over but could never say no to.

_On my face I can feel the falling rain _

It takes a moment for him to register that It's raining. All his senses had been focused on detecting enemy movement and possible attack that he hadn't even realised that dark clouds had covered the sky. As the rain got heavier it started to wash off all the dried mud, dust and blood that had covered him from head to toe, almost like it was absolving him of the sins that he had committed and those he knew he would commit before it ended.

_Every man does play his part_

Kakashi knew that he wasn't expected to survive this war, that he had survived the war with Iwa had been unexpected and to add on the that the attack of the nine tailed fox and three and a half years service in ANBU, the odds of his survival were so low that it was laughable... if you were the type to laugh at that kind of thing.

_I choke a cry, but no one hears_

Wolf managed to hold back a strangled cry. As the kunai tore into his arm he kicked back at the cloud nin and threw a poisoned senbon over the short distance and had a moment of satisfaction when the cloud nin didn't have time to dodge and it struck home. He jumped back and waited the small amount of time it took for the neurotoxin to take effect and then checked the nin's pulse, dead.

_Surly a war no one can win_

Cloud was pulling back. Three months of open war and it was almost over. Kakashi was standing with his unit, during a small break for rations and a quick check over by a medic when the news was given to them by the unit commander. "Captain, is it really over?" the question was asked by one of the newbies of his squad "Not yet Tiger, we'll stay until the Hokage is sure that cloud won't try something else" Kakashi tried not to snap at the man. It wasn't Tigers fault that he hadn't slept more than an hour at a time since the declaration of war was made.

_Home, far away_

The Chunins were being sent back to Konoha, ANBU and the Jonins would hold the line until T and I were sure that the cloud nin were really gone. '_it's been a long time since I've been home, I wonder what has changed' . _

_**The END... for now**_

_A/N so there you go, please review thankyou cai-ann_


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